You know the Private Forest Landowners Association (PFLA) as the advocate for BC’s private forest landowners at a provincial level. Today, we’ll introduce you to the Canadian Federation of Forest Owners (CFFO), a nationally focused organization looking out for the interests of Canadian private forest landowners and woodlot owners at a Federal level. We’ll start out with a history lesson (and acronym overload!). The CFFO is the product of the recent amalgamation of two, previously independent organizations: the Canadian Federation of Woodlot Owners (CFWO) and the Canadian Association of Forest Owners (CAFO). …But the two organizations recognized that aligning interests as a single entity made sense, and in January of 2021, the CFFO was born. …The CFFO represents Canadian forest owners, large and small, including many of the 450,000 woodlot owners across Canada with woodlots that average 30 to 40 hectares in size. These woodlots add up to about 19 million hectares of private forest land. 

A new online exhibit is on display with the Beaty Biodiversity Museum called Fire Followers. In the exhibit, artist Megan Majewski and writer Sharon Roberts give voice to forests impacted by B.C. wildfires. While preparing for the exhibit, Sharon interviewed the Forest Enhancement Society of BC’s (FESBC) Executive Director, Steve Kozuki. “We were approached by Sharon back in 2018 when she was first working on the Fire Followers project. The idea of taking an artistic approach to telling the story about the impacts of B.C. wildfires intrigued me because of the work I do with FESBC. It is abundantly clear that there are many, many passionate people who want to improve B.C.’s forests, including First Nations, community forests, woodlots and many others. The artists’ greatest hopes for the project are to help shape the public perception of what a healthy forest looks like.

Brent and Craig Lebeau

A new television program that highlights the colourful lives of Interior logging truck drivers is proving successful.  Mud Mountain Haulers is nearing the end of its first season and is already reaching 500,000 Canadian viewers per episode, according to series producer Mark Miller. …The eight-episode, one-hour docuseries follows two real-life crews, led by brothers Craig and Brent Lebeau, as they work the Cariboo Mountains. The family are third generation loggers in the area, and Mark and Brent are skilled at navigating the hair-raising logging roads found in the area. …Ultimately, Miller said he hopes the show helps shed light on the hard working men and women who work in B.C.’s forestry industry.  “We wanted to leave viewers with an understanding of what it takes to get that roll of toilet paper … or the wood that was used to build your house,” said Miller.

…A conservation group based in northern B.C. has put together a pair of maps showing the extent of old-growth and primary forest left across the province, including in Metro Vancouver. Conservation North spent years putting the maps together, which pull data from federal and provincial reports on things like agricultural land and mining, along with forestry. One, called ‘Seeing Red’, marks out in different colours (including red) where human activity has disturbed forests. …The map shows most of the province covered in red. The group states they hope it and a second map showing old-growth forests will alert British Columbians to the current impacts from humans on the forest.

On March 19th, 2021, communities across British Columbia will unite in a march for British Columbia’s forests.  A growing number of British Columbia’s citizens feel the BC Government has taken little action and too few of the steps needed to ensure the continued health of our forests, ecosystems, and communities. What is Forest March BC? Forest March BC is a grassroots movement made up of British Columbians currently living in communities affected by the logging industry. In a nutshell, Forest March BC advocates for sustainable forestry practices to include local voices in important decisions that directly impact their communities. …The loss of our old-growth forests is directly tied to devastating events in communities throughout British Columbia.